U.S. patent application number 14/940394 was filed with the patent office on 2016-06-30 for image capture apparatus capable of processing photographed images.
This patent application is currently assigned to CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD. The applicant listed for this patent is CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD. Invention is credited to Tsuyoshi Matsunaga.
Application Number | 20160188959 14/940394 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 56164560 |
Filed Date | 2016-06-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160188959 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Matsunaga; Tsuyoshi |
June 30, 2016 |
Image Capture Apparatus Capable of Processing Photographed
Images
Abstract
In an image capture apparatus comprising an image capture unit
including an image sensor and a control unit including a CPU, the
control unit detects a facial portion of a person within an image
captured by the image capture unit and performs image processing
unique to a person on the facial portion, and, in a case in which
it is possible to estimate that a person is a target for
photographing in a method different from a detection of a face of
the person, the control unit controls to perform the image
processing unique to a person on a skin color portion detected
within the image.
Inventors: |
Matsunaga; Tsuyoshi;
(Hamura-shi, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD |
Shibuya-ku |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
56164560 |
Appl. No.: |
14/940394 |
Filed: |
November 13, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
382/162 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06T 2207/30201
20130101; G06K 9/00234 20130101; G06T 11/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
G06K 9/00 20060101
G06K009/00; G06T 7/00 20060101 G06T007/00; G06K 9/52 20060101
G06K009/52; G06K 9/62 20060101 G06K009/62; G06T 7/40 20060101
G06T007/40; G06K 9/46 20060101 G06K009/46 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 29, 2014 |
JP |
2014-267014 |
Claims
1. An image capture apparatus comprising an image capture unit
including an image sensor and a control unit including a CPU,
wherein the control unit detects a facial portion of a person
within an image captured by the image capture unit and performs
image processing unique to a person on the facial portion, and, in
a case in which it is possible to estimate that a person is a
target for photographing by a method different from detection of a
face of the person, the control unit controls to perform the image
processing unique to a person on a skin color portion detected
within the image.
2. The image capture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a
case in which a facial portion of a person could be detected within
the image, the control unit performs the image processing unique to
a person on the facial portion, and in a case in which a facial
portion of a person could not be detected within the image and it
is possible to estimate that a person is a target for photographing
by a method different from detection of a face of the person, the
control unit performs the image processing unique to a person on a
skin color portion within the image.
3. The image capture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, under
the condition in which a facial portion of a person could be
detected within the image, it is selectable between an operation
mode of performing the image processing unique to a person on the
facial portion, and, under the condition in which it is possible to
estimate that a person is a target for photographing by a method
different from detection of a face of the person, it is possible to
choose an operation mode of performing the image processing unique
to a person on a skin color portion within the image.
4. The image capture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
image processing unique to a person is processing of changing a
skin color or a skin condition of a person.
5. The image capture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the
method different from detection of a face of the person in order to
estimate that a person is a target for photographing is a method of
estimating that a person is a target for photographing in a case in
which a photographing mode with a person as a target for
photographing being set.
6. An image capture apparatus comprising an image capture unit
including an image sensor and a control unit including a CPU,
wherein the control unit detects a subject using characteristic
information of a first viewpoint relating to a subject of a
specific kind within an image captured by the image capture unit
and performs image processing unique to the subject on a subject
portion detected, and, in a case in which it is possible to
estimate that the subject of the specific kind is a target for
photographing using other information different from characteristic
information relating to the subject of the specific kind, the
control unit controls so as to perform image processing unique to
the subject of the specific kind on an image region detected using
characteristic information of a second viewpoint relating to the
subject of the specific kind.
7. The image capture apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, in a
case in which the subject of the specific kind could be detected
within the image, the control unit performs the image processing
unique to the subject on a subject portion detected, and in a case
in which the subject of the specific kind could not be detected
within the image and it is possible to estimate that the subject of
the specific kind is a target for photographing using other
information different from characteristic information relating to
the subject of the specific kind, the control unit performs the
image processing unique to the subject of the specific kind on an
image region detected using the characteristic information of the
second viewpoint relating to the subject of the specific kind.
8. The image capture apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, under
the condition in which the subject of the specific kind could be
detected within the image, it is possible to choose an operation
mode of performing the image processing unique to the subject on a
subject portion detected, and, under the condition in which it is
possible to estimate that the subject of the specific kind is a
target for photographing using other information different from
characteristic information relating to the subject of the specific
kind, it is possible to choose an operation mode of performing the
image processing unique to the subject of the specific kind on an
image region detected using the characteristic information of the
second viewpoint relating to the subject of the specific kind.
9. The image capture apparatus according to claim 6, wherein,
regarding the detection using the characteristic information of the
second viewpoint as compared with the detection using the
characteristic information of the first viewpoint, a possibility of
erroneously detecting an image region which is not an image region
corresponding to the subject of the specific kind but the
probability of not being detected is high, while a probability of
an image region corresponding to the subject of the specific kind
being included is low.
10. The image capture apparatus according to claim 6, wherein, in
the detection using the characteristic information of the first
viewpoint, judging whether the subject of the specific kind exists
within an image is performed, and, in the detection using the
characteristic information of the second viewpoint, only specifying
an image region on which to conduct the image processing is
performed without performing judging of whether the subject of the
specific kind exists within an image.
11. The image capture apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the
characteristic information of the first viewpoint includes a
characteristic of a form of the subject of the specific kind, or a
characteristic of a positional relationship of a plurality of
portions constituting the subject, and the characteristic
information of the second viewpoint does not include the
characteristic of the form or the characteristic of the positional
relationship, and includes a characteristic of a color of the
subject of the specific kind.
12. The image capture apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the
subject of the specific kind is a person, wherein the
characteristic information of the first viewpoint includes a
characteristic of a form of the face of a person or a
characteristic of a positional relationship of a plurality of
portions constituting the face of a person, and wherein the
characteristic information of the second viewpoint does not include
the characteristic of the form or the characteristic of the
positional relationship, and includes a characteristic of a skin
color of a person.
13. The image capture apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the
image processing unique to the subject of the specific kind is
processing of changing a skin color or a skin condition of a
person.
14. The image capture apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, in
a case in which a selfie mode for photographing oneself is set, the
control unit specifies an image region by prioritizing detection
using the characteristic information relating to the skin color,
over detection using the characteristic information relating to the
form or the positional relationship.
15. The image capture apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, in
a case in which a selfie mode for photographing oneself is set, the
control unit specifies an image region by prioritizing detection
using the characteristic information relating to the form or the
positional relationship, over detection using the characteristic
information relating to the skin color.
16. The image capture apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, in
a case of detecting an image region corresponding to a person in
order to adjust a photographing condition to a person, the control
unit does not perform detection using the characteristic
information of the second viewpoint, and performs detecting using
the characteristic information of the first viewpoint.
17. The image capture apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, in
a case of detecting an image region corresponding to a person in
order to adjust a focus to a distance to a person or to adjust an
exposure condition to brightness of a person, the control unit does
not perform detection using the characteristic information of the
second viewpoint, and performs detecting using the characteristic
information of the first viewpoint.
18. An image capture control method executed by an image capture
apparatus including an image capture unit, the method comprising:
detecting a subject using characteristic information of a first
viewpoint relating to a subject of a specific kind within an image
captured by the image capture unit, and performing image processing
unique to the subject on a subject portion detected; and
controlling, in a case in which it is possible to estimate that the
subject of the specific kind is a target for photographing using
other information different from characteristic information
relating to the subject of the specific kind, so as to perform
image processing unique to the subject of the specific kind on an
image region detected using characteristic information of a second
viewpoint relating to the subject of the specific kind.
19. A non-transitory storage medium encoded with a
computer-readable program that enables a computer which controls an
image capture apparatus including an image capture unit to execute
functions of: detecting a subject using characteristic information
of a first viewpoint relating to a subject of a specific kind
within an image captured by the image capture unit and performs
image processing unique to the subject on a subject portion
detected; and controlling, in a case in which it is possible to
estimate that the subject of the specific kind is a target for
photographing using other information different from characteristic
information relating to the subject of the specific kind, so as to
perform image processing unique to the subject of the specific kind
on an image region detected using characteristic information of a
second viewpoint relating to the subject of the specific kind.
Description
[0001] This application is based on and claims the benefit of
priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-267014, filed on
29 Dec. 2014, the content of which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to an image capture apparatus
capable of processing photographed images, an image capture control
method, and a storage medium storing a program.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Technologies have been known that relate to cameras (image
capture apparatus) having a face beautification function which
performs image processing in order to put on skin
beautification/skin whitening on a facial part of a person detected
within a photographed image (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent
Application, Publication No. 2011-55066 and Japanese Unexamined
Patent Application, Publication No. 2014-96836).
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] An aspect of the present invention is an image capture
apparatus comprising an image capture unit including an image
sensor and a control unit including a CPU, in which the control
unit detects a facial portion of a person within an image captured
by the image capture unit and performs image processing unique to a
person on the facial portion, and, in a case in which it is
possible to estimate that a person is a target for photographing by
a method different from detection of a face of the person, the
control unit controls to perform the image processing unique to a
person on a skin color portion detected within the image.
[0007] Furthermore, another aspect of the present invention is an
image capture apparatus comprising an image capture unit including
an image sensor and a control unit including a CPU, in which the
control unit detects a subject using characteristic information of
a first viewpoint relating to a subject of a specific kind within
an image captured by the image capture unit and performs image
processing unique to the subject on a subject portion detected,
and, in a case in which it is possible to estimate that the subject
of the specific kind is a target for photographing using other
information different from characteristic information relating to
the subject of the specific kind, the control unit controls so as
to perform image processing unique to the subject of the specific
kind on an image region detected using characteristic information
of a second viewpoint relating to the subject of the specific
kind.
[0008] Furthermore, yet another aspect of the present invention is
an image capture control method executed by an image capture
apparatus including an image capture unit, the method including:
detecting a subject using characteristic information of a first
viewpoint relating to a subject of a specific kind within an image
captured by the image capture unit, and performing image processing
unique to the subject on a subject portion detected; and
controlling, in a case in which it is possible to estimate that the
subject of the specific kind is a target for photographing using
other information different from characteristic information
relating to the subject of the specific kind, so as to perform
image processing unique to the subject of the specific kind on an
image region detected using characteristic information of a second
viewpoint relating to the subject of the specific kind.
[0009] Furthermore, another aspect of the present invention is a
non-transitory storage medium encoded with a computer-readable
program that enables a computer which controls an image capture
apparatus including an image capture unit to execute functions of:
detecting a subject using characteristic information of a first
viewpoint relating to a subject of a specific kind within an image
captured by the image capture unit and performs image processing
unique to the subject on a subject portion detected; and
controlling, in a case in which it is possible to estimate that the
subject of the specific kind is a target for photographing using
other information different from characteristic information
relating to the subject of the specific kind, so as to perform
image processing unique to the subject of the specific kind on an
image region detected using characteristic information of a second
viewpoint relating to the subject of the specific kind.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration
of an image capture apparatus according to one embodiment of the
present invention;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a functional
configuration for executing photographing processing among the
functional configurations of the image capture apparatus of FIG.
1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of photographing
processing executed by the image capture apparatus of FIG. 1 having
the functional configuration of FIG. 2; and
[0013] FIG. 4 is a flowchart explaining a flow of photographing
processing executed by the image capture apparatus of FIG. 1 having
the functional configuration of FIG. 2 in a second embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] Embodiments of the present invention are explained below
with reference to the drawings.
First Embodiment
[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration
of an image capture apparatus according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0016] The image capture apparatus 1 is configured as, for example,
a digital camera.
[0017] The image capture apparatus 1 includes a CPU (Central
Processing Unit) 11, ROM (Read Only Memory) 12, RAM (Random Access
Memory) 13, a bus 14, an input/output interface 15, an image
capture unit 16, an input unit 17, an output unit 18, a storage
unit 19, a communication unit 20, and a drive 21.
[0018] The CPU 11 executes various processing according to programs
that are recorded in the ROM 12, or programs that are loaded from
the storage unit 19 to the RAM 13.
[0019] The RAM 13 also stores data and the like necessary for the
CPU 11 to execute the various processing, as appropriate.
[0020] The CPU 11, the ROM 12, and the RAM 13 constitute a control
unit.
[0021] The CPU 11, the ROM 12 and the RAM 13 are connected to one
another via the bus 14. The input/output interface 15 is also
connected to the bus 14. The image capture unit 16, the input unit
17, the output unit 18, the storage unit 19, the communication unit
20, and the drive 21 are connected to the input/output interface
15.
[0022] The image capture unit 16 includes an optical lens unit and
an image sensor, which are not shown.
[0023] In order to photograph a subject, the optical lens unit is
configured by a lens such as a focus lens and a zoom lens for
condensing light.
[0024] The focus lens is a lens for forming an image of a subject
on the light receiving surface of the image sensor. The zoom lens
is a lens that causes the focal length to freely change in a
certain range.
[0025] The optical lens unit also includes peripheral circuits to
adjust setting parameters such as focus, exposure, white balance,
and the like, as necessary.
[0026] The image sensor is configured by an optoelectronic
conversion device, an AFE (Analog Front End), and the like.
[0027] The optoelectronic conversion device is configured by a CMOS
(Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) type of optoelectronic
conversion device and the like, for example. Light incident through
the optical lens unit forms an image of a subject in the
optoelectronic conversion device. The optoelectronic conversion
device optoelectronically converts (i.e. captures) the image of the
subject, accumulates the resultant image signal for a predetermined
time interval, and sequentially supplies the image signal as an
analog signal to the AFE.
[0028] The AFE executes a variety of signal processing such as A/D
(Analog/Digital) conversion processing of the analog signal. The
variety of signal processing generates a digital signal that is
output as an output signal from the image capture unit 16.
[0029] Such an output signal of the image capture unit 16 is
hereinafter referred to as "data of a captured image". Data of a
captured image is supplied to the CPU 11, an image processing unit
(not illustrated), and the like as appropriate.
[0030] The input unit 17 is configured by various buttons and the
like, and inputs a variety of information in accordance with
instruction operations by the user.
[0031] The output unit 18 is configured by the display unit, a
speaker, and the like, and outputs images and sound.
[0032] The storage unit 19 is configured by DRAM (Dynamic Random
Access Memory) or the like, and stores data of various images.
[0033] The communication unit 20 controls communication with other
devices (not shown) via networks including the Internet.
[0034] A removable medium 31 composed of a magnetic disk, an
optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, semiconductor memory or the
like is installed in the drive 21, as appropriate. Programs that
are read via the drive 21 from the removable medium 31 are
installed in the storage unit 19, as necessary. Similarly to the
storage unit 19, the removable medium 31 can also store a variety
of data such as the image data stored in the storage unit 19.
[0035] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing a functional
configuration for executing photographing processing among the
functional configurations of such an image capture apparatus 1.
[0036] Photographing processing refers to a sequence of processing
of imparting a skin beautification/skin whitening effect to the
face of a person in a captured image by executing the skin
beautification/skin whitening processing after executing image
capture processing.
[0037] In a case of executing the photographing processing, as
shown in FIG. 2, an image capture control unit 51, a face detection
unit 52, a processing target region specification unit 53, a
situation judgment unit 54, a face beautification/skin whitening
processing unit 55, and a storage control unit 56 function in a
control unit (CPU 11, ROM 12, RAM 13).
[0038] Furthermore, an image storage unit 71 is provided in a
region of the storage unit 19.
[0039] Data of a captured image is stored in the image storage unit
71.
[0040] The image capture control unit 51 controls the image capture
unit 16 to perform image capturing. As a result, a captured image
is outputted from the image capture unit 16.
[0041] The face detection unit 52 detects whether the face of a
person is included in a photographed range in a captured image
acquired from the image capture unit 16 by way of image analysis.
The face detection unit 52 executes, as face detection, image
processing to adjust a photographing condition to a person with an
image region corresponding to person as a target, i.e. image
processing to adjust a focus to a distance to a person or image
processing to adjust an exposure condition to the brightness of a
person.
[0042] The processing target region specification unit 53 specifies
a region (hereinafter, referred to as "processing target region")
as a processing target on which skin beautification/skin whitening
processing is performed in a captured image thus acquired.
[0043] The situation judgment unit 54 judges whether or not being a
situation in which the face of a person should be included in a
photographed range by a method other than analysis of a
photographed image. The situation in which the face of a person
should be included refers to a situation in which the probability
of the face of a person being included in a captured image is high,
and such a situation is judged based on a condition of the image
capture apparatus 1 and the environment surrounding the image
capture apparatus 1. The situation in which the face of a person
should be included is, for example, a case of selecting a selfie
mode (a mode of photographing oneself).
[0044] More specifically, the situation judgment unit 54 judges
whether a selfie mode is set, for example, as the situation in
which the face of a person should be included in a photographed
range. In a case in which the selfie mode is set, the situation
judgment unit 54 judges that a situation is the situation in which
the face of a person should be included in a photographed range,
and in a case in which the selfie mode is not set, the situation
judgement unit 54 judges as not being the situation in which the
face of a person should be included in a photographed range.
[0045] The skin beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55
performs skin beautification/skin whitening processing on a
processing target region specified by the processing target region
specification unit 53. The skin beautification/skin whitening
processing refers to processing to perform processing so that skin
looks beautiful or skin turns white in a beautiful fashion, and
employs an existing, well-known image processing technology
relating to skin beautification/skin whitening.
[0046] The storage control unit 56 controls the image storage unit
71 to store a captured image.
[0047] FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of photographing
processing executed by the image capture apparatus 1 of FIG. 1
having the functional configuration of FIG. 2.
[0048] The photographing processing starts by a user's operation of
starting the photographing processing to the input unit 17.
[0049] In Step S11, the image capture control unit 51 performs
image capture processing. The image capture control unit 51
controls the image capture unit 16 to perform image capturing. As a
result of the image capture processing, a captured image is
outputted from the image capture unit 16.
[0050] In Step S12, the face detection unit 52 detects whether the
face of a person is included in a photographed range by way of
analysis of a photographed image.
[0051] In Step S13, the face detection unit 52 judges whether the
face of a person was detected.
[0052] In a case of the face of a person being detected, it is
judged as YES in Step S13 and the processing advances to Step
S14.
[0053] In a case of the face of a person not being detected, it is
judged as NO in Step S13 and the processing advances to Step
S15.
[0054] In Step S14, the processing target region specification unit
53 specifies a facial portion of a person thus detected as a
processing target region.
[0055] In Step S15, the situation judgment unit 54 judges whether
being a situation in which the face of a person should be included
in a photographed range in a method other than an analysis of a
photographed image. The situation judgment unit 54 judges whether a
selfie mode has been set, for example, as the situation in which
the face of a person should be included in a photographed range. In
a case in which the selfie mode has been set, the situation
judgment unit 54 judges as being a situation in which the face of a
person should be included in a photographed range, and in a case in
which the selfie mode has not been set, the situation judgment unit
54 judges as not being a situation in which the face of a person
should be included in a photographed range.
[0056] In Step S16, the situation judgment unit 54 judges whether
being a situation in which the face of a person should be
included.
[0057] In a case of being a situation in which the face of a person
should be included, it is judged as YES in Step S16 and the
processing advances to Step S17.
[0058] In a case of not being a situation in which the face of a
person should be included, it is judged as NO in Step S16 and the
processing advances to Step S19.
[0059] In Step S17, the processing target region specification unit
53 specifies a portion corresponding to skin color within a
photographed image as a processing target region.
[0060] In Step S18, the skin beautification/skin whitening
processing unit 55 executes skin beautification/skin whitening
processing on the processing target region thus specified.
[0061] In Step S19, the storage control unit 56 causes the image
storage unit 71 to store a photographed image.
[0062] Then, the photographing processing ends.
[0063] It should be noted that, in the abovementioned embodiment,
it may be configured so as to execute the skin beautification/skin
whitening processing only in a case of the face of a person being
detected and of the situation in which the face of a person should
be included.
[0064] Furthermore, in the abovementioned embodiment, it may also
be configured so as to execute the skin beautification/skin
whitening processing by preferentially judging whether being a
situation in which the face of a person should be included more
than the detection of the face of a person.
Second Embodiment
[0065] In the abovementioned embodiment, it is configured so as to
execute the skin beautification/skin whitening processing on a
facial portion in a case of the face of a person being detected,
and to execute the skin beautification/skin whitening processing on
a skin color portion even in a case of the face of a person not
having been detected so long as being a situation in which the face
of a person should be included. On the other hand, in the present
embodiment, it is configured so as to selectively switch a
photographing mode which executes the skin beautification/skin
whitening processing to a facial portion in a case of the face of a
person having been detected (hereinafter, referred to as "normal
photographing mode") and a photographing mode which executes the
skin beautification/skin whitening on a skin color portion in a
case of being the situation in which the face of a person should be
included (hereinafter, referred to as "face-undetected judgment
mode"). In other words, in the present embodiment, it is configured
so as to judge by a method other than image analysis of a
photographed image in the face-undetected judgment mode.
[0066] It should be noted that, in the second embodiment,
descriptions for the matters in common with the first embodiment
are omitted. In other words, in the second embodiment, since the
hardware configuration and the functional configuration in the
image capture apparatus 1 are the same, descriptions thereof are
omitted.
[0067] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of photographing
processing executed by the image capture apparatus 1 of FIG. 1
having the functional configuration of FIG. 2 in the second
embodiment.
[0068] The photographing processing starts by a user's operation of
starting the photographing processing to the input unit 17.
[0069] In Step S31, the image capture control unit 51 performs
image capture processing. The image capture control unit 51
controls the image capture unit 16 to perform image capturing. As a
result of the image capture processing, a captured image is
outputted from the image capture unit 16.
[0070] In Step S32, the image capture control unit 51 judges
whether the skin beautification/skin whitening processing is
prohibited.
[0071] In the case of the skin beautification/skin whitening being
prohibited, it is judged as YES in Step S32 and the processing
advances to Step S41.
[0072] In the case of the skin beautification/skin whitening not
being prohibited, it is judged as NO in Step S32 and the processing
advances to Step S33.
[0073] In Step S33, the image capture control unit 51 judges
whether being in the face-undetected judgment mode.
[0074] In the case of being in the face-undetected judgment mode,
it is judged as YES in Step S33 and the processing advances to Step
S34.
[0075] In the case of not being the face-undetected judgment mode,
it is judged as NO in Step S33 and the processing advances to Step
S37.
[0076] In Step S34, the situation judgment unit 54 judges whether
being a situation in which the face of a person should be included
in a photographing range by a method other than analysis of a
photographed image. The situation judgment unit 54 judges whether a
selfie mode is set, for example, as the situation in which the face
of a person should be included in a photographed range. In a case
in which the selfie mode is set, the situation judgment unit 54
judges as being situation in which the face of a person should be
included in a photographed range, and in a case in which the selfie
mode is not set, the situation judgement unit 54 judges as not
being a situation in which the face of a person should be included
in a photographed range.
[0077] In Step S35, the situation judgment unit 54 judges whether
it is a situation in which the face of a person should be
included.
[0078] In a case of being the situation in which the face of a
person should be included, it is judged as YES in Step S35 and the
processing advances to Step S36.
[0079] In a case of not being the situation in which the face of a
person should be included, it is judged as NO in Step S35 and the
processing advances to Step S41.
[0080] In Step S36, the processing target region specification unit
53 specifies a portion corresponding to skin color within a
photographed image as a processing target region.
[0081] In Step S37, the face detection unit 52 detects whether the
face of a person is included within a photographed range by way of
analysis of a photographed image.
[0082] In Step S38, the face detection unit 52 judges whether the
face of a person has been detected.
[0083] In a case of the face of a person having been detected, it
is judged as YES in Step S38 and the processing advances to Step
S39.
[0084] In a case of the face of a person not having been detected,
it is judged as NO in Step S38 and the processing advances to Step
S41.
[0085] In Step S39, the processing target region specification unit
53 specifies a facial portion of a person thus detected as a
processing target region.
[0086] In Step S40, the skin beautification/skin whitening
processing unit 55 executes the skin beautification/skin whitening
on the processing target region thus specified.
[0087] In Step S41, the storage control unit 56 causes the image
storage unit 71 to store a photographed image.
[0088] Then, the photographing processing ends.
[0089] Therefore, in a conventional image capture apparatus having
a feature of executing skin beautification/skin whitening
processing, since the skin beautification/skin whitening processing
is skipped in a case in which a face cannot be detected, the skin
beautification/skin whitening processing may or may not be
performed depending on the performance of the face detection.
However, according to the present invention, it is possible to
store (photograph) a captured image on which the skin
beautification, skin whitening processing, etc., has been conducted
on skin reliably since the skin beautification, skin whitening
processing, etc., on skin is implemented even in a case in which a
face could not be detected, including a case in which a face
detection tends to fail due to a pair of glasses or hair covering
eyes, for example.
[0090] The image capture apparatus 1 configured as above includes
the image capture unit 16, the face detection unit 52, the
processing target region specification unit 53, and the skin
beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55.
[0091] The face detection unit 52 specifies an image region
corresponding to a predetermined subject within a photographed
image captured by the image capture unit 16 using characteristic
information of a first viewpoint relating to the subject.
[0092] The processing target region specification unit 53 specifies
an image region within a photographed image using characteristic
information of a second viewpoint which is different from the first
viewpoint relating to a predetermined subject.
[0093] The skin beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55
executes image processing unique to a predetermined subject with an
image region corresponding to a predetermined subject as a
target.
[0094] Furthermore, in a case in which the image processing is
first image processing unique to a predetermined subject, the skin
beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55 executes image
processing with an image region specified by the processing target
region specification unit 53 as a target.
[0095] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
in a case in which image processing is the first image processing
unique to a predetermined subject, since the image processing is
executed with the image region specified by the processing target
region specification unit 53 as a target, it is possible to
efficiently control execution of the image processing unique to a
subject on a subject within a photographed image.
[0096] Furthermore, the image capture apparatus 1 includes the face
detection unit 52 that specifies using the characteristic
information of the first viewpoint.
[0097] In a case in which the image region corresponding to a
predetermined subject could not be specified by the face detection
unit 52, the skin beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55
executes the first image processing in the image processing means
with the image region specified by the processing target region
specification unit 53 as a target.
[0098] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
since the image processing unique to a predetermined subject is
executed with the image region specified by the processing target
region specification unit 53 as a target, even in a case in which
the image region corresponding to a predetermined subject could not
be specified by the face detection unit 52, it is possible to
efficiently control execution of the image processing unique to a
subject on a subject within a photographed image.
[0099] The accuracy of the second viewpoint in specifying an image
region corresponding to a predetermined subject is lower than that
of the first viewpoint; however, the probability that an image
region as a target for the first image processing can be specified
is higher than that of the first viewpoint.
[0100] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to improve the accuracy of the image region and to
efficiently control execution of the image processing unique to a
subject on a subject within a photographed image.
[0101] Furthermore, in a case in which the image processing
executed is a second image processing, the skin beautification/skin
whitening processing unit 55 executes image processing as an image
region specified by the face detection unit 52 as a target.
[0102] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to specify an image region using the face
detection.
[0103] Furthermore, the image capture apparatus 1 includes the
situation judgment unit 54 which judges whether being a situation
in which a predetermined subject should exist within a photographed
range without using characteristic information relating to a
predetermined subject.
[0104] The skin beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55
executes the image processing unique to a predetermined subject
with the image region specified by the face detection unit 52 as a
target, in a condition in which it has been judged by the situation
judgment unit 54 as being a situation in which a predetermined
subject should exist within a photographed range.
[0105] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to efficiently control execution of the image
processing unique to a subject on a subject within a photographed
image.
[0106] The skin beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55
executes the first image processing with an image region specified
by the face detection unit 52 as a target, in a condition in which
it has been judged by the situation judgment unit 54 as not being
possible to specify an image region corresponding to a
predetermined subject and being a situation in which a
predetermined subject should exist within a photographed range.
[0107] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to efficiently control execution of image processing
unique to a subject on a subject within a photographed image.
[0108] The face detection unit 52 performs both judging whether a
predetermined subject exists within a photographed subject and
specifying an image region on which image processing unique to a
predetermine subject is performed.
[0109] The processing target region specification unit 53 only
performs specifying an image region on which image processing
unique to a predetermined subject is executed without performing
judging whether a predetermined subject exists within a
photographed range.
[0110] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to specify an image region reliably and efficiently
control execution of image processing unique to a subject on a
subject within a photographed image.
[0111] In a case in which it has been judged by the situation
judgment unit 54 as being a situation in which a predetermined
subject should exist within a photographed range, the skin
beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55 is made to execute
image processing unique to a predetermined subject with the image
region specified by the face detection unit 52 as a target, in a
condition in which it was judged by the face detection unit 52 that
a predetermined subject exists within a photographed range.
[0112] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to efficiently control execution of image processing
unique to a subject on a subject within a photographed image.
[0113] The skin beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55
executes image processing according to a region specification
result by the face detection unit 52 or the processing target
region specification unit 53, and a judgment result by the
situation judgment unit 54.
[0114] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to efficiently control execution of image processing
unique to a subject on a subject within photographed image.
[0115] The skin beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55
selects either the processing target region specification unit 53
or the face detection unit 52 for specifying an image region as a
target for image processing unique to a predetermined subject,
according to a judgment result by the situation judgment unit
54.
[0116] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to efficiently control execution of image processing
unique to a subject on a subject within photographed image.
[0117] Furthermore, in the image capture apparatus 1, the
characteristic information of the first viewpoint is a
characteristic of the form of a predetermined subject and the
characteristic information of the second viewpoint is a
characteristic of the color of a predetermined subject.
[0118] The face detection unit 52 specifies an image region using
at least a characteristic of the form of a predetermined
subject.
[0119] The processing target region specification unit 53 specifies
an image region without using a characteristic of the form of a
predetermined subject.
[0120] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to efficiently control execution of image processing
unique to a subject on a subject within a photographed image
reliably in order to specify an image region in a different
viewpoint.
[0121] The face detection unit 52 specifies an image region using
both a characteristic of the form of a predetermined subject and a
characteristic of color.
[0122] The processing target region specification unit 53 specifies
an image region using only a characteristic of the color of a
predetermined subject.
[0123] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to efficiently control execution of image processing
unique to a subject on a subject within a photographed image
reliably.
[0124] Furthermore, in the image capture apparatus 1, the
predetermined subject is a person.
[0125] The face detection unit 52 specifies an image region
corresponding to the face of a person within a photographed image
captured by the image capture unit 16 by way of face detection
processing using characteristic information of the face of a
person.
[0126] The processing target region specification unit 53 specifies
an image region on which image processing unique to a person is
executed without performing the face detection processing.
[0127] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to specify the image region corresponding to the
face of a person by way of the face detection processing, and thus
it is possible to efficiently control execution of image processing
unique to a subject on the person within the photographed
image.
[0128] The processing target region specification unit 53 judges
whether being a situation in which the face of a person should
exist within a photographed range without using a face detection
result by way of the face detection processing.
[0129] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
since the judgment is performed without using the face detection
result by way of the face detection processing, it is possible to
efficiently control execution of the image processing unique to a
subject on a person within a photographed image.
[0130] The situation judgment unit 54 specifies an image region
having a color corresponding to the skin color of a person as an
image region on which image processing unique to a person is
executed without performing the face detection processing. With
such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1, since the
image region having a color corresponding to the skin color of a
person is specified as the image region on which the image
processing unique to a person is executed, it is possible to
efficiently control execution of the image processing unique to a
subject on the skin of a person within a photographed image.
[0131] As first image processing, the skin beautification/skin
whitening processing unit 55 executes image processing relating to
skin beautification or skin whitening with an image region
corresponding to the skin of a person as a target.
[0132] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to efficiently control execution of image processing
on a skin color (skin beautification or skin whitening) unique to a
subject on a person within a photographed image.
[0133] As second image processing, the skin beautification/skin
whitening processing unit 55 executes image processing of adjusting
a photographing condition to a person with an image region
corresponding to person as a target.
[0134] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to use image processing to adjust a photographing
condition to a person with an image region corresponding to a
person as a target, and it is possible to efficiently control
execution of image processing to the skin color (skin
beautification or skin whitening) unique to a subject on a person
within a photographed image.
[0135] The second image processing is image processing to adjust a
focus to a distance to a person, or image processing to adjust an
exposure condition to the brightness of a person.
[0136] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
it is possible to use image processing by way of conventional face
detection technology to adjust a focus to a distance to a person or
image processing to adjust an exposure condition to the brightness
of a person, and it is possible to efficiently control execution of
image processing to a skin color (skin beautification or skin
whitening) unique to a subject on a person within a photographed
image.
[0137] The image capture apparatus 1 configured as above includes
the image capture unit 16, the face detection unit 52, the skin
beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55, and the situation
judgment unit 54.
[0138] The face detection unit 52 executes region specification
processing to specify an image region corresponding to a skin
portion of a person within a photographed image captured by the
image capture unit 16.
[0139] The skin beatification/skin whitening processing unit 55
executes image processing relating to skin beautification or skin
whitening with the image region specified by way of the face
detection unit 52 as a target.
[0140] The situation judgment unit 54 acquires predetermined
judgment information relating to a judgment as to whether being a
predetermined situation in which the person who is the photographer
should exist within a photographed range.
[0141] In a case in which it is judged as a predetermined situation
in which a person who is a photographer should exist within a
photographed range based on the predetermined judgment information
acquired by the situation judgment unit 54, the skin
beautification/skin whitening processing unit 55 controls to
execute region specification processing which preferentially
performs a characteristic detection relating to a color of a person
over a characteristic detection relating to the form of a person by
a region specification unit, and execute the image processing
relating to skin beautification or skin whitening on the image
region specified by the region specification processing.
[0142] With such a configuration, in the image capture apparatus 1,
in a case in which it is judged as being a predetermined situation
in which the person who is a photographer should exist within a
photographed range based on predetermined judgment information
acquired by the situation judgment unit 54, it is possible to
efficiently control execution of image processing unique to a
subject on a subject within a photographed image in order to
execute region specification processing which preferentially
performs a characteristic detection relating to the color of a
person over a characteristic detection relating to the form of a
person by a region specification unit.
[0143] It should be noted that the present invention is not to be
limited to the aforementioned embodiments, and that modifications,
improvements, etc. within a scope that can achieve the objects of
the present invention are also included in the present
invention.
[0144] In the abovementioned embodiment, although it is configured
to include a single image capture unit 16 so as to judge a
situation in which photographing oneself is performed (setting the
selfie mode in the present embodiment), for example, it may be
configured to judge a situation of having switched to an image
capture unit for selfie upon configuring the image capture
apparatus 1 so as to include both an image capture unit for selfie
and another image capture unit, or it may be configured to judge a
situation of a positional relationship having been arranged which
is estimated that selfie can be performed in a case in which either
an image capture unit or a monitor, or both in the image capture
unit 1 is (are) configured so as to be movable in terms of angle
and direction.
[0145] Furthermore, in the abovementioned embodiment, although the
situation of performing selfie as the situation in which the face
of a person should be included, the present invention is not
limited thereto. For example, in a case in which a face was
detected in a live view image, etc., in a state immediately before
photography, since it is highly likely that a face is included even
when a face was not detected at the time of photography, it may be
configured so as to define as the situation in which the face of a
person should be included. Furthermore, since the face is close to
a hair region, it may be configured so as to define as the
situation in which the face of a person should be included by
judging a relationship between, a skin color region and a hair
region which is brown, black, etc., and located side by side with
the skin color region. Furthermore, it may be configured so as to
define as the situation in which the face of a person should be
included in case of a result of the face detection not having
satisfied, but being close to a certain reference (for example, a
case in which a facial part does not suit a certain reference,
etc.). More specifically, in a case of the second viewpoint being
set as low-accuracy face detection, it can be configured so that
the accuracy of specifying an image region corresponding to a
predetermined subject is lower than a case of the first viewpoint
being set as high-accuracy face detection, but the probability of
being capable of specifying an image region as a target for the
first image processing is high.
[0146] Furthermore, although the skin beautification processing
which changes a surface texture to make a facial skin color
preferable and/or the skin whitening processing which makes the
skin color to be white, which is said to be beautiful, are
performed in the abovementioned embodiment, it may be configured so
as to perform processing to make not only the skin, but also
another object preferable, for example.
[0147] Furthermore, in the abovementioned embodiment, it may be
configured so as to build in another substitute function in place
of the face detection to an image capture apparatus without the
face detection function.
[0148] Furthermore, although it is configured so as to perform the
skin beautification/skin whitening on the facial skin of a person
in the abovementioned embodiment, it may be configured so as to
perform the skin beautification/skin whitening on the skin of a
person, a mouth, and the like. Furthermore, the target is not
limited to a person, and it may also be configured to perform
processing of making the color of a photographed image of a subject
itself look not just normal as it is, but more beautiful or vivid.
More specifically, a target may be an apple (vivid red, smooth
surface, gloss with shiny appearance) or a mountain (vivid green).
In such a case, such processing is performed by judging a mode, an
instruction, and the like regarding a situation in which a subject
as a target should be included.
[0149] In the aforementioned embodiments, explanations are provided
with the example of the image capture apparatus 1 to which the
present invention is applied being a digital camera; however, the
present invention is not limited thereto in particular.
[0150] For example, the present invention can be applied to any
electronic device in general having a photography processing
function. More specifically, for example, the present invention can
be applied to a laptop personal computer, a television receiver, a
video camera, a portable navigation device, a cell phone device, a
smartphone, a portable gaming device, and the like.
[0151] The processing sequence described above can be executed by
hardware, and can also be executed by software.
[0152] In other words, the hardware configurations of FIG. 2 are
merely illustrative examples, and the present invention is not
particularly limited thereto. More specifically, the types of
functional blocks employed to realize the above-described functions
are not particularly limited to the examples shown in FIG. 2, so
long as the image capture apparatus 1 can be provided with the
functions enabling the aforementioned processing sequence to be
executed in its entirety.
[0153] A single functional block may be configured by a single
piece of hardware, a single installation of software, or a
combination thereof.
[0154] In a case in which the processing sequence is executed by
software, the program configuring the software is installed from a
network or a storage medium into a computer or the like.
[0155] The computer may be a computer embedded in dedicated
hardware. Alternatively, the computer may be a computer capable of
executing various functions by installing various programs, e.g., a
general-purpose personal computer.
[0156] The storage medium containing such a program can not only be
constituted by the removable medium 31 of FIG. 1 distributed
separately from the device main body for supplying the program to a
user, but also can be constituted by a storage medium or the like
supplied to the user in a state incorporated in the device main
body in advance. The removable medium 31 is composed of, for
example, a magnetic disk (including a floppy disk), an optical
disk, a magnetic optical disk, or the like. The optical disk is
composed of, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory),
a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), Blu-ray (Registered Trademark) or
the like. The magnetic optical disk is composed of an MD
(Mini-Disk) or the like. The storage medium supplied to the user in
a state incorporated in the device main body in advance is
constituted by, for example, the ROM 12 of FIG. 1 in which the
program is recorded or a hard disk, etc. included in the storage
unit 19 of FIG. 1.
[0157] It should be noted that, in the present specification, the
steps defining the program recorded in the storage medium include
not only the processing executed in a time series following this
order, but also processing executed in parallel or individually,
which is not necessarily executed in a time series.
[0158] In this way, configurations such as how the plurality of
functions (processing, unit) necessary for acquiring a variety of
the abovementioned effects is divided, whether or not each function
thus divided is realized by hardware or software, and the like are
arbitrary. Other configuration examples are described below.
Aspect 1
[0159] A configuration is established so as to include: an image
capture apparatus including an image capture unit including an
image sensor and a control unit including a CPU, [0160] wherein the
control unit detects a facial portion of a person within an image
captured by the image capture unit and performs image processing
unique to a person on the facial portion, [0161] and, in a case in
which it is possible to estimate that a person is a target for
photographing by a method different from detection of a face of the
person, the control unit controls to perform the image processing
unique to a person on a skin color portion detected within the
image.
Aspect 2
[0162] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0163] in a case in which a facial portion
of a person could be detected within the image, the control unit
performs the image processing unique to a person on the facial
portion, and in a case in which a facial portion of a person could
not be detected within the image and it is possible to estimate
that a person is a target for photographing by a method different
from detection of a face of the person, the control unit performs
the image processing unique to a person on a skin color portion
within the image.
Aspect 3
[0164] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0165] under the condition in which a
facial portion of a person could be detected within the image, it
is selectable between an operation mode of performing the image
processing unique to a person on the facial portion, and, under the
condition in which it is possible to estimate that a person is a
target for photographing by a method different from detection of a
face of the person, it is possible to choose an operation mode of
performing the image processing unique to a person on a skin color
portion within the image.
Aspect 4
[0166] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which [0167] the image processing unique to a
person is processing of changing a skin color or a skin condition
of a person.
Aspect 5
[0168] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which [0169] the method different from detection
of a face of the person in order to estimate that a person is a
target for photographing is a method of estimating that a person is
a target for photographing in a case in which a photographing mode
with a person as a target for photographing being set.
Aspect 6
[0170] A configuration is established so as to include: an image
capture apparatus comprising an image capture unit including an
image sensor and a control unit including a CPU, [0171] in which
the control unit detects a subject using characteristic information
of a first viewpoint relating to a subject of a specific kind
within an image captured by the image capture unit and performs
image processing unique to the subject on a subject portion
detected, [0172] and, in a case in which it is possible to estimate
that the subject of the specific kind is a target for photographing
using other information different from characteristic information
relating to the subject of the specific kind, the control unit
controls so as to perform image processing unique to the subject of
the specific kind on an image region detected using characteristic
information of a second viewpoint relating to the subject of the
specific kind.
Aspect 7
[0173] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0174] in a case in which the subject of
the specific kind could be detected within the image, the control
unit performs the image processing unique to the subject on a
subject portion detected, and in a case in which the subject of the
specific kind could not be detected within the image and it is
possible to estimate that the subject of the specific kind is a
target for photographing using other information different from
characteristic information relating to the subject of the specific
kind, the control unit performs the image processing unique to the
subject of the specific kind on an image region detected using the
characteristic information of the second viewpoint relating to the
subject of the specific kind.
Aspect 8
[0175] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0176] under the condition in which the
subject of the specific kind could be detected within the image, it
is possible to choose an operation mode of performing the image
processing unique to the subject on a subject portion detected,
and, under the condition in which it is possible to estimate that
the subject of the specific kind is a target for photographing
using other information different from characteristic information
relating to the subject of the specific kind, it is possible to
choose an operation mode of performing the image processing unique
to the subject of the specific kind on an image region detected
using the characteristic information of the second viewpoint
relating to the subject of the specific kind.
Aspect 9
[0177] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0178] regarding the detection using the
characteristic information of the second viewpoint as compared with
the detection using the characteristic information of the first
viewpoint, a possibility of erroneously detecting an image region
which is not an image region corresponding to the subject of the
specific kind but the probability of not being detected is high,
while a probability of an image region corresponding to the subject
of the specific kind being included is low.
Aspect 10
[0179] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0180] in the detection using the
characteristic information of the first viewpoint, judging whether
the subject of the specific kind exists within an image is
performed, and, [0181] in the detection using the characteristic
information of the second viewpoint, only specifying an image
region on which to conduct the image processing is performed
without performing judging of whether the subject of the specific
kind exists within an image.
Aspect 11
[0182] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0183] the characteristic information of
the first viewpoint includes a characteristic of a form of the
subject of the specific kind, or a characteristic of a positional
relationship of a plurality of portions constituting the subject,
and [0184] the characteristic information of the second viewpoint
does not include the characteristic of the form or the
characteristic of the positional relationship, and includes a
characteristic of a color of the subject of the specific kind.
Aspect 12
[0185] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0186] the subject of the specific kind is
a person, [0187] the characteristic information of the first
viewpoint includes a characteristic of a form of the face of a
person or a characteristic of a positional relationship of a
plurality of portions constituting the face of a person, and [0188]
the characteristic information of the second viewpoint does not
include the characteristic of the form or the characteristic of the
positional relationship, and includes a characteristic of a skin
color of a person.
Aspect 13
[0189] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which [0190] the image processing unique to the
subject of the specific kind is processing of changing a skin color
or a skin condition of a person.
Aspect 14
[0191] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0192] in a case in which a selfie mode for
photographing oneself is set, the control unit specifies an image
region by prioritizing detection using the characteristic
information relating to the skin color, over detection using the
characteristic information relating to the form or the positional
relationship.
Aspect 15
[0193] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0194] in a case in which a selfie mode for
photographing oneself is set, the control unit specifies an image
region by prioritizing detection using the characteristic
information relating to the form or the positional relationship,
over detection using the characteristic information relating to the
skin color.
Aspect 16
[0195] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0196] in a case of detecting an image
region corresponding to a person in order to adjust a photographing
condition to a person, the control unit does not perform detection
using the characteristic information of the second viewpoint, and
performs detecting using the characteristic information of the
first viewpoint.
Aspect 17
[0197] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0198] in a case of detecting an image
region corresponding to a person in order to adjust a focus to a
distance to a person or to adjust an exposure condition to
brightness of a person, the control unit does not perform detection
using the characteristic information of the second viewpoint, and
performs detecting using the characteristic information of the
first viewpoint.
Aspect 18
[0199] A configuration is established so as to include: an image
capture unit; [0200] a first region specification unit that
specifies an image region corresponding to a predetermined subject
within a photographed image captured by the image capture unit
using characteristic information of a first viewpoint relating to
the subject; [0201] a second region specification unit that
specifies an image region within the photographed image using
characteristic information of a second viewpoint different from the
first viewpoint relating to the predetermined subject; [0202] an
image processing unit that executes predetermined image processing
with the image region corresponding to the predetermined subject as
a target; and, [0203] a control unit that executes image processing
with an image region specified by the second region specification
unit as a target, in a case in which the image processing executed
by the image processing unit is first image processing unique to
the predetermined subject.
Aspect 19
[0204] A configuration is established so that, in a case in which
the first region specification unit could not specify an image
region corresponding to the predetermined subject, the control unit
causes the image processing unit to execute the first image
processing with an image region specified by the second region
specification unit as a target.
Aspect 20
[0205] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0206] for the second region specification
unit as compared with the first region specification unit, the
accuracy of specifying an image region corresponding to the
predetermined subject is lower than that of the first region
specification unit, while the probability that an image region as a
target for the first image processing can be specified is higher
than that of the first region specification unit.
Aspect 21
[0207] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration in which, [0208] in a case in which the image
processing executed by the image processing unit is second image
processing, the control unit executes the image processing with an
image region specified by the first region specification unit as a
target.
Aspect 22
[0209] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration to include: [0210] a first judgment unit that judges
whether being a situation in which the predetermined subject should
exist within a photographed range without using characteristic
information relating to the predetermined subject, [0211] in which,
under the condition in which it has been judged by the first
judgment unit as being a situation in which the predetermined
subject should exist within a photographed range, the control unit
causes the image processing unit to execute the first image
processing with an image region specified by the first region
specification unit as a target.
Aspect 23
[0212] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that, [0213] under the condition in which it has
been judged by the first region specification unit that an image
region corresponding to the predetermined subject could not be
specified and it was a situation in which the predetermined subject
should exist within a photographed range, the control unit causes
the image processing unit to execute the first image processing
with an image region specified by the first region specification
unit as a target.
Aspect 24
[0214] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0215] the first region specification unit
performs both judging whether the predetermined subject exists
within a photographed range and specifying an image region on which
the image processing unit executes image processing, and [0216] the
second region specification unit only performs specifying an image
region on which the image processing unit executes image processing
without performing judging whether the predetermined subject exists
within a photographed range.
Aspect 25
[0217] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so as to cause the image processing unit to execute
the first image processing with an image region specified by the
first region specification unit as a target, [0218] in a case in
which it has not been judged by the first judgment unit as being a
situation in which the predetermined subject should exist within a
photographed range, under the condition in which it has been judged
by the first region specification unit that the predetermined
subject exists within a photographed range.
Aspect 26
[0219] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0220] the control unit controls execution of
image processing by the image processing unit according to a region
specification result by the first region specification unit or the
second region specification unit and a judgment result by the first
judgment unit.
Aspect 27
[0221] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0222] the control unit selects either the
first region specification unit or the second region specification
unit for specifying an image region as a target for image
processing unique to the predetermined subject by the image
processing unit according to a judgment result of the first
judgment unit.
Aspect 28
[0223] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0224] the characteristic information of the
first viewpoint is a characteristic of a form of the predetermined
subject, [0225] the characteristic information of the second
viewpoint is a characteristic of a color of the predetermined
subject, [0226] the first region specification unit specifies the
image region using at least the characteristic of a form of the
predetermined subject, and [0227] the second region specification
unit specifies the image region without using the characteristic of
a form of the predetermined subject.
Aspect 29
[0228] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0229] the first region specification unit
specifies the image region using both the characteristic of the
form and the characteristic of the color of the predetermined
subject, and [0230] the second region specification unit specifies
the image region using only the characteristic of the color of the
predetermined subject.
Aspect 30
[0231] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0232] the predetermined subject is a person,
[0233] the first region specification unit specifies an image
region corresponding to the face of a person within a photographed
image captured by the image capture unit by face detection
processing using characteristic information of the face of a
person, and [0234] the second region specification unit specifies
an image region on which image processing unique to a person is
executed without performing the face detection processing.
Aspect 31
[0235] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so as to further include: [0236] a second judgment
unit that judges whether being a situation in which the face of a
person should exist within a photographed range without using a
detection result of a face by the face detection processing.
Aspect 32
[0237] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0238] the second region specification unit
specifies an image region having a color corresponding to a skin
color of a person as an image region on which the image processing
unique to the person is executed without performing the face
detection processing.
Aspect 33
[0239] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0240] the image processing unit executes
image processing relating to skin beautification or skin whitening,
as the first image processing, with an image region corresponding
to the skin of a person as a target.
Aspect 34
[0241] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0242] the image processing unit executes
image processing to adjust a photographing condition to a person,
as the second image processing, with an image region corresponding
to a person as a target.
Aspect 35
[0243] A configuration is established further to the abovementioned
configuration so that [0244] the second image processing is image
processing to adjust a focus to a distance to a person or image
processing to adjust an exposure condition to brightness of a
person.
Aspect 36
[0245] A configuration is established to include: an image capture
unit; [0246] a region specification unit that executes region
specification processing to specify an image region corresponding
to a skin portion of a person within a photographed image captured
by the image capture unit; [0247] an image processing unit that
executes image processing relating to skin beautification or skin
whitening with an image region specified by the region
specification unit as a target; [0248] an acquisition unit that
acquires predetermined judgment information relating to a judgment
whether being a predetermined situation in which a person as a
photographer should exist within a photographed range; and [0249] a
control unit that, in a case in which it is judged as a
predetermined situation in which a person who is the photographer
should exist within a photographed range based on the predetermined
judgment information acquired by the acquisition unit, controls to
execute region specification processing which preferentially
performs a characteristic detection relating to a color of a person
over a characteristic detection relating to a form of a person by
the region specification unit, and execute the image processing
relating to skin beautification or skin whitening by the image
processing unit on the image region specified by the region
specification processing.
* * * * *